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Paleontologists in Patagonia, Argentina, have actually discovered a part of a postcranial skeleton that came from a formerly unidentified rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur.
Life restoration of Astigmasaura genuflexaImage credit: Mattia Yuri Messina.
The newly-discovered dinosaur resided in what is now Argentina throughout the Late Cretaceous date, roughly 95 million years back.
Clinically called Astigmasaura genuflexathe types had to do with 18 m (59 feet )long and weighed more than 10 lots.
The ancient giant belonged to Rebbachisauridae, a big household of sauropod dinosaurs within the superfamily Diplodocoidea.
” Rebbachisaurids are medium to large-sized, non-selective and ground-level internet browser diplodocoid sauropods, and they are defined by extremely specialized skulls, commonly pneumatized axial aspects and gracile appendicular skeletons,” stated
“Known from the Early Cretaceous to the early Late Cretaceous, the rebbachisaurid fossil record is especially diversified in the ancient supercontinent Gondwana, with numerous specimens discovered in North Africa and South America.”
“Notably, Patagonia has actually yielded over majority of all understood Rebbachisauridae, consisting of the earliest types and the youngest rebbachisaurid stays to date.”
Fieldwork at the El Orejano region of the Huincul Formation in Patagonia, Argentina. Image credit: Flavio Bellardini.
The fossilized remains of Astigmasaura genuflexa were discovered at the El Orejano region of the Huincul Formation in the Neuquén Basin, Patagonia, Argentina.
“The type product of Astigmasaura genuflexa makes up the posterior part of an articulated, postcranial skeleton of a single, morphologically adult person, “the paleontologists stated.
The brand-new types was among the last rebbachisaurid dinosaurs before their termination 90 million years earlier.
Astigmasaura genuflexa shares various conditions with other Rebbachisauridae, consisting of anterior caudal vertebrae with high neural spinal columns and tetraradiate neural laminae, uneven middle haemal arches, mediolaterally compressed proximal tibiae, and thigh with medially likely distal condyles,” the scientists stated.
“Furthermore, Astigmasaura genuflexa reveals a special mix of diagnostic functions that differentiate it from all other sauropods.”
“This brand-new record not just offers brand-new morphological info about the caudal and pelvic girdle anatomy of Rebbachisauridae, which is badly understood to date, and recommends a higher taxonomic diversity within the household throughout the last phases of its evolutionary history than understood before.”
The group’s paper released online in the journal Cretaceous Research
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Flavio Bellardini et al2025. Side by side with titans: A brand-new rebbachisaurid dinosaur from the Huincul Formation (upper Cenomanian) of Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous Research 176: 106188; doi: 10.1016/ j.cretres.2025.106188
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